My GRE Math Score: Impact on Admission Chances & Selecting a Safety School

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the impact of GRE math scores on graduate school admission chances, particularly in the context of selecting safety schools. Participants share personal experiences and concerns regarding their scores and overall application strength, including GPA and letters of recommendation.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses concern about their poor GRE math score and its potential negative impact on admission chances, despite having a strong GPA and good letters of recommendation.
  • Another participant shares their own experience of being accepted to only one top 20 school, attributing it to similar issues with GRE scores.
  • Some participants suggest that the GRE score may not be as critical as perceived, encouraging the original poster to focus on their overall application strengths.
  • There is a suggestion that the original poster could discuss their GRE performance with recommenders, who might address it positively in their letters.
  • One participant mentions their own poor performance on the physics GRE but indicates that it is not a major concern since they are applying to engineering programs instead.
  • Another participant expresses a sense of resignation about their GRE performance, emphasizing their confidence in their overall application despite the score.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a mix of concern and reassurance regarding the significance of GRE scores. While some believe that a low score could jeopardize admission chances, others argue that strong application components may mitigate this issue. No consensus is reached on the importance of the GRE math score.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of confidence in their applications, with some relying on their GPA and recommendations to offset their GRE scores. There is uncertainty regarding the specific thresholds for GRE scores that may affect admissions.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals preparing for graduate school applications, particularly those concerned about standardized test scores and their implications for admission chances.

JasonJo
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I just took the GRE math subject exam and it is safe to say I bombed it. I especially bombed it because a great score would've solidified by GPA along with my 3 letters from 3 professors I have done research under.

A lot of people have been telling me it's not terribly important, but I have been snooping around on the internet and it seems like if you don't have a certain score, you won't get in. I'm talking about getting into a 50-60% percentile.

I guess I just did not know the material as well as I thought I did.

Are my chances of getting into my top choice schools done for? What type of school would be a safety school with a 3.8, good letters of reccomendation from professors I have researched under, a good gre and a bad gre math score?

Thanks guys
 
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JasonJo said:
I just took the GRE math subject exam and it is safe to say I bombed it. I especially bombed it because a great score would've solidified by GPA along with my 3 letters from 3 professors I have done research under.

A lot of people have been telling me it's not terribly important, but I have been snooping around on the internet and it seems like if you don't have a certain score, you won't get in. I'm talking about getting into a 50-60% percentile.

I guess I just did not know the material as well as I thought I did.

Are my chances of getting into my top choice schools done for? What type of school would be a safety school with a 3.8, good letters of reccomendation from professors I have researched under, a good gre and a bad gre math score?

Thanks guys

No offense. But that was what i lacked when i apply for grad school. only one school in top 20 accepts me.
 
leon1127 said:
No offense. But that was what i lacked when i apply for grad school. only one school in top 20 accepts me.

nah i understand, i have to pay the price for bombing the gre's. this sucks!
 
Last edited:
How bad did you do? You look good everywhere else. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Maybe you could talk to one of your recommenders about it, and they can talk about it in their LOR. Perhaps they could say that you know your stuff, despite the low GRE score.
 
Jason - You don't even know your GRE scores yet. I would try not to stress out about it for the next month.
 
I just found out (by phone) that I did really badly on the physics GRE. It's not too big of a deal though, since I've decided to apply to engineering graduate programs instead of physics grad programs.
 
qualgorithm said:
Jason - You don't even know your GRE scores yet. I would try not to stress out about it for the next month.

I know what my max score is because of how many I skipped.

I am eager to see where I get into. I simply do not care anymore that I bombed the GRE. my grad school application is damn good, if they don't accept me, they don't accept me. i worked my butt off for 3 straight years, sorry i didnt have time to study for the gre math, i was studying actual mathematics.
 

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